How to Treat Bad Breath

Created on January 31, 2011

If there’s one thing that is bound to cause more self-consciousness than just having crooked teeth or stained teeth is having bad breath. Yeah, bad breath is the one way you don’t want to break the ice, and you don’t want to be remembered as that one guy with the bad breath. The team here at our Springfield, MA cosmetic dentistry understands why you may be concerned about your breath, so here are a few tips we think will be useful to you if you want to combat that bad case fo halitosis.

Brushing and flossing regularly is a good first step. You should be flossing daily and brushing at least twice a day (ideally you should brush after every meal). Since bad breath is usually caused by the bacteria in your mouth, getting rid of that bacteria is a great way to get rid of that bad breath. Remember: a clean mouth is a fresh-smelling mouth. Using a mouthwash that eliminates bacteria is also a good idea and this can be done as part of your usual dental hygiene habits.

As far as keeping your mouth fresh and clean, it’s also a good idea to drink several glasses of water a day. The water will help keep your mouth moist, meaning less chance for bad breath, and it will also help sweep away some of the food particles that may be caught between your teeth.

Here’s another obvious way to get rid of that bad breath–quit smoking and go easy on the alcoholic beverages. Smoking is not just bad for your lungs and your general health, it’s bad for your dental health as well. Smoking will leave your breath less appealing and it can cause tooth decay, dental staining, and gum problems as well. Alcoholic beverages dry out the mouth, which makes bad breath more severe.

As mentioned above a few times, keeping that mouth moist is a good way to help deal with bad breath, which is why having some mints or chewing gum on you is not a bad idea. Both will cause you to salivate and keep that mouth nice and wet, and hence more likely to be fresh as well.